Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge Bike Rental

Everything started out well, I made a reservation to rent a bicycle on line and paid for it ahead of time. When I got to the location to pick up the bicycle the employees were nice enough. However, no one explained how to shift gears and when I asked they acted like I was an idiot. So the first few miles went smoothly, it was a lovely ride along the Hudson River heading toward the Brooklyn Bridge but then as I was changing gears the chain fell off and got wedged between two sprockets. OK, no problem, it happens, I used to put the chain back on my 10 speed when I was a kid so I flipped the bike upside down could not do it when bike was right side up because the steering mechanism was so loose the bike was very unstable on the kick stand at which point the basket on the front fell off. It took a few minutes to get the chain back on, not a big deal, but when I turned the bike back to right side up and tried to re-attach the basket it kept falling off. Finding the correct way to secure the basket was not an intuitive or easy process and took me about 20 minutes. By now, I had to turn around and head back because the bike had to be returned by 7 pm and it was 6:30pm, but I had plenty of time or so I thought! I got on the bike and started to head back but now the brakes were rubbing against the tires, it took me another half hour to get the brakes both back and front adjusted in a way that would allow me to ride without excessive drag. Now it was 7 pm so I called the number provided in case I encountered any trouble. The woman on the other end of the phone was very polite and seemed genuinely concerned both for my safety and apologetic about the difficulty I was having with their equipment. After she called the location where I picked up the bike it was decided that I should try to ride the bike back to the office instead of having someone come out in a truck and pick me up. So I started on my way, from this point on there were numerous times that I had to stop because the chain fell off or the brakes started to rub on the tires again. I finally arrived back at the rental office about 45 minutes late. Here's what really bothered me, the gentleman I use that term loosely was obviously angry that he did not get off work on time. When I tried to explain to him that the bicycle had some obvious problems and was in need of adjustment he insisted that it was a brand new bike and that any problems I encountered were my fault. He never apologized for the fact that his faulty equipment took the joy out of what could have been a very nice experience and he insisted that I pay for an extra hour rental they hold your driver license hostage at the beginning of the rental so I had no choice but to pay it. I will never rent a bicycle from this company again!! Surely, New York City has multiple bike rental options from companies that are willing to stand by their product instead of blaming the customer for their inferior equipment! I give this 1/2 out of 5 stars!

Very easy rental location, good bikes and a good map was available. The only thing that surprised us was a note on arrival that the rental location would close at 4 o'clock that day. We didn't know that before hand so we almost couldn't use our full 4 hours since there was no set arrival time. But if this is in exception, everything else was fine.

We had the chance to have this ride with a guide, the Irish Dan. Great job and great patience with us!!! :-

Very nice biking route, excellent service from the shop, nice bike

Great! I just wish I had had time to do the guided tour, but it was still good none the less

I am so glad we decided to rent the bikes for the day. I hadn't ridden a bike in years but the rental bikes were comfortable and sturdy and I was riding easily right away. They provided helmet, lock and map. We had to switch our seats and would have liked 1 lock for each bike but great fun overall!

Loved riding over the Brooklyn Bridge. Amazing views, easier and quicker to see a lot more things. It also made eating a massive pizza from Grimaldi's far less guilty!

Enjoyable but cycling route extremely busy with bikes and pedestrians making if difficult to appreciate the ride! - alternate off road too dangerous!!

Mit dem Fahrrad katastrophal, Brooklyn Bridge muss man laufen!

Fahrradfahren in New York nicht zu empfehlen, Brooklyn Bridge muss man zu Fuß laufen